I was thinking this morning about how people say the Bible has been altered and tweaked and how now there is confusion about meaning and intent.

I wrote this little story this morning with that in mind, thinking about how it is human nature to utilize slippery slopes and lame excuses to our moral detriment.

I am particularly pleased to share this because I feel that it is a valuable, thought-provoking tool for everyone, whether one has a religious faith or not, because it addresses the moral issue of following spirit of the law as opposed to letter of the law.

It Wouldn’t Be Fair!-A Kafleen the Donkey Allegory

“DO EAT THE BOSTON CREAM PIE IN THE FRIJ!”

said the note on the refrigerator when they returned home from school.
They gathered round it and stared at the obvious handwriting of their
father. They were hungry, foraging for snacks, and that pie beckoned
like a lusciously-dressed siren.

“DOOOO EAT THE BOSTON CREAM PIE,” Evelyn repeated in a
chant-like tone, her nose close to the note, eyes crossed, bugged out, as though scrutinizing closely.

They sniggered wildly.

Obviously, they knew deep down, father had somehow accidentally
omitted the “NOT” in his haste-perhaps to go to the grocery store?-as there was not much in the refrigerator.

The exquisitely made-with-mother-love pie beckoned sweetly.

“Frij,” snickered Adam. “What’s a frij? Makes no sense!”

“Sounds obscene, even,” Another added.

They tittered nervously, staring at the pie. Its chocolaty goodness
seemed almost to vibrate.

“There’s one in the REFRIGERATOR,” one of them said. IT must be a
DIFFERENT pie,”

and,

“Couldn’t hurt to sniff it…”

The BC pie was carried to the counter. Their noses and eyes scrutinized it closely.

Tittering, commenting and questioning snarkily, they circled the pie like hyenas.

“It DOES demand that we eat it!”, the Other said. “And we SHOULD
be obedient children!” (nervous twitters again) “How FAIR would it be if we were punished for following the instructions?” (hands on hips, huge
innocent eyes punctuated this line of logic)

After a period of similar justifications, they soon found themselves picking at the pie.

They weren’t really eating it. Just …testing it. Why, if something brushed against it in the refrigerator, or fell on it, accidentally, the same marks
could have been made.

“Hell,” said one, “might as well have a SLICE now.”

They were almost finished with their innocent law-abiding deed, the pie
plate empty, their stomachs full, when their father suddenly appeared in the kitchen, groceries in hand, the smell of their favorite take-out dinner

It may appear jejune to some to start a post with a definition, but in this case it well suits my purpose:

cheer (chîr)
n.
1. Lightness of spirits or mood; gaiety or joy: a happy tune, full of cheer.
2. A source of joy or happiness; a comfort.
3.
a. A shout of approval, encouragement, or congratulation.
b. A short, rehearsed jingle or phrase, shouted in unison by a squad of cheerleaders.
4. Festive food and drink; refreshment.
v. cheered, cheer·ing, cheers
v.tr.
1. To make happier or more cheerful: a warm fire that cheered us.
2. To encourage with or as if with cheers; urge: The fans cheered the runners on. See Synonyms at encourage.
3. To salute or acclaim with cheers; applaud. See Synonyms at applaud.
v.intr.
1. To shout cheers.
2. To become cheerful: had lunch and soon cheered up.

I’ve always understood the concept of cheering someone up as causing them to feel jolly, as in definition one.

And I’ve always understood the concept of cheer as in shouting cheers, to encourage, as in cheering on your team.

But, (and yes, I can be shockingly dense) it just today occurred to me that “cheering someone up” can involve the latter definition; rather than doing something simply to make a person feel jolly, as it were, one can “cheer one up” by actually cheering them on, involving a metaphorical act of jumping up and down and saying, basically, “You rock!”

This may seem obvious to you, but it eluded me until now.

It reminds me, again, of how important it is to make the rounds, and “cheer people on!”

I enjoy doing it on ICHC…sometimes it just comes in the form of a simple “LOL” or “snurt” so they know someone is watching or appreciating their humor. It can be huge, though. The possibilities are endless.

When faced with depression, loneliness, and some of the other negative symptoms of the season, I prescribe the “Go Cheer Someone UP!” prescription!

Actually, it works better if you don’t just focus on one person. By putting all your eggs in one basket, you may be disappointed. People get busy, distracted, etc., and they may not notice or comment on your attempt, (that doesn’t make them calloused, just human) so don’t stop at just one, or you may get discouraged.